"Batman 3" and "The Hobbit" by 2013

2013? 2013!? That's the longest we might have to wait? Okay, maybe I should calm down. After all, Christopher Nolan isn't a super hero (ha ha), and even with his brother Jonathan working on the script for Batman 3, he'll probably need a break after the extensive work on Inception (which I'm unbelievably excited for) before he jumps back into the director's chair. Still, it's been nearly two years since The Dark Knight, and it took three years between Batman Begins and that film. It would have been nice to have a repeat of that time table, but that looks highly unlikely. Oh well, at least it's being made, and with Nolan on board (which was confirmed a while ago).

Also, how nice is it to finally hear something GOOD about Del Toro/Jackson's The Hobbit? For a while it seemed like the whole project had come to a complete standstill. It's nice to see that at least one major film franchise is getting its next installment off the ground. People can rag on Del Toro for Hellboy all they want, but it doesn't change the fact that he wrote and directed both The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth, two stunning fantasy-dramas. And with Peter Jackson simultaneously in a rut as a director (The Lovely Bones) and on a high as a producer (District 9), it's good to have the grand maestro behind The Lord of the Rings trilogy involved in a pivotal role. I, for one, am more than ready to return to Middle Earth.

Warner Brothers to make announcement regarding "Batman 3" in January

Or, "All I want for Christmas is for Mr. Nolan to come back"

Source: Screen Crave

The speculation over the long developing sequel to The Dark Knight, has calmed down over the past couple of months. Mostly due to the fact that Christopher Nolan has been working on his latest film Inception, which is currently in post production. But, a “reliable source” over at batman-on-film.net, says that Warner Bros. will soon make a big announcement regarding the future of the Caped Crusader.

Warner Brothers along with Christopher Nolan, are set to make an announcement over the next installment of the successful Batman franchise in January 2010. After months of speculation, comments from Gary Oldman at Comic Con and of course, the endless list of quotes from Sir Michael Caine about the number of possible villains for the sequel, this should give Batman fans everywhere a decent amount of closure.

The only downside to this rumor, is a recent interview from Caine (again!) stating that Batman 3 won’t happen for the next couple of years, so now we’re completely confused about the film’s status. We’ll just have to sit pretty and wait until next year to figure out what the hell’s going on with the series.

No Christopher Nolan for "Batman 3"???

If this ends up being true, it's really a shame, because Nolan's done such a brilliant job of reinventing the franchise. However, I understand that he must still be a bit exhausted after all of the "Dark Knight" hoopla, and considering that he's still working on "Inception" for a summer 2010 release, could probably use a break. Though it would be cool to have another talented directed come on board for Batman 3, like I said, Nolan's done such a great job, so why not just wait for him (unless he swears off Batman movies forever)?

Source: CHUD.com

I feel like we need to really figure out the naming convention for the next Batman film until the official title is revealed. Is it Batman 3? That would indicate there were not four previous Batman movies; it isn't like the James Bond films started over from #1. I like calling it The Dark Knight 2 (or TDK2, since the kids just love acronyms these days), but that's mostly because I feel like Nolan finally figured out how to make a Batman film with TDK. Batman Begins is such a dry run.

Anyway, whatever you want to call it, there's no news about it. And that's possibly news, according to Batman on Film. The site reports that Warner Bros and Christopher Nolan should know what's what with Batman 3 - ie, is Nolan coming back - by January 2010. BoF's source says the longer we don't hear about it, the more likely it is that Nolan is done. BoF has different opinions, saying that Nolan is signed.

Which may be the case! But it doesn't matter. If Nolan wants out of Batman 3/TDK2, Warner Bros is going to let him go. They're not going to force the dude to make the movie. That way lies a terrible film. And even if Nolan didn't want to direct the next movie, he'd definitely be producing it. So even in a situation where Nolan realizes he might have a very hard time following up the second biggest earning movie (unadjusted!) in history, Warner Bros would get to put his name on the TV commercials for the next film.

My guess: Nolan will not direct the next film. He'll be a strong producer but he'll turn over the reins to someone talented but hungry - a name that will make us nerds happy but won't eclipse him. If that's the case, who could it be?

It's coming....

Please don't be lying to us Gary Oldman...

Source: CHUD.com

They (Gary Oldman and the fine folks at Warner Bros.) just announced at Comic Con thatBatman 3 will begin shooting in 2010. We don't know who will be behind the lens (Nolan's looking pretty booked), who the villain will be, what the title will be, or if it'll be the further evolution of a smarter look at Batman or if dollar signs rule the day.

Christian Bale talks about "Batman 3"

Source: Nukethefridge.com

Totalfilm had an interview with Christian Bale and he had a few things to say about 'Batman 3'. 

"Will we do a third movie? It's got to be the right story. You can't make something like The Dark Knight and then come out with something disappointing. 

"I would like it if people say, 'You'll never make a good third movie.' I say, 'OK, let's make a third movie in that case, let's prove them wrong. But that's just me. The fact is, I have to! I've signed up! Chris doesn't. So I'm in a bit of a fix if he says he doesn't want to!" 

“It's got to be the right story” is what stands out the most to me. Nice to see that Bale is NOT just out to get paid.